They're all keepers of honeybees, part of a growing collection of bee-friendly landmarks around the world.

In recent years, global hotels have joined the urban bee-keeping trend too, bringing their own honey direct to their tables.

That's good news, considering the well documented decline in the bee population in certain geographical areas, notably North America and Europe.

A number of factors, including disease, pesticides and habitat degradation are attributed to diminishing bee numbers, and the losses are significant.

These sweet creatures are the globe's most prolific insect pollinators, whose combined annual economic value to agriculture worldwide is estimated at $167 billion.

Here's a look at five top luxury hotels creating a buzz in their local communities.

Waldorf Astoria New York

On a rooftop 20 stories above Park Avenue, some 360,000 bees produce more than 136 kilograms (300 pounds) of honey, harvested annually, which not only finds its way into the hotel's menus, but also into treatments at the hotel's Guerlain Spa.

"It is an important statement about our concern for the environment, it is educational for our culinary team, and it provides fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and edible flowers throughout our hotel," says David Garcelon, director of culinary at Waldorf Astoria New York.

With home-harvested honey, the hotel created Waldorf Buzz beer last year in partnership with the Empire brewing Company; a yet-unnamed new brew with lemon verbena and hops from the on-site garden is slated to be launched this fall.

Twice weekly, the hotel's Historical Tour stops off at the garden to see the hives and its more than 60 types of herbs, fruit, vegetables and edible flowers.

On the menu: The "Wax Poetic" and "Leaves of Grass" cocktails at Peacock Alley lobby bar and restaurant are both made with Zubrowka bison grass vodka and house-made honey syrup.

Mandarin Oriental, Paris

Paris has been a pesticide-free zone for the past 10 years, making the French capital an attractive urban environment for honey bees.

With the help of local organization Apiterra, 50,000 bees reside at the MO rooftop beehive, with last year's sweet haul totaling 25 kilograms.

Guests who can't get enough of the ooey, gooey and very sweet syrup (in the words of Winnie the Pooh) offered through the hotel's F&B menu can opt into the hotel's eco-initiatives -- such as reusing towels -- to receive a jar of honey to keep.

On the menu: The "Homemade Honey" cocktail at Bar 8 is made with Yuzu liqueur, jasmine tea with ginger, Champagne and house-made honey.

W Taipei

Following a good eight months of prep work, W Taipei became the first urban beekeeping establishment in Taiwan when it opened up its 32nd floor rooftop to host some 150,000 busy bees in partnership with Syin Lu Social Welfare Foundation.

After six months and two harvests from the Sweet Reward program, the bee colonies were moved to another downtown building as part of the foundation's larger urban beekeeping project.

Whatever honey the hotel chefs and mixologists don't purchase from Syin Lu, the foundation (which produced more than 800 kilograms of honey in the first half of the year from 94 hives) either sells or produces soaps with it in their factory manned by disabled workers.

On the menu: The "Detox Martini" cocktail at WOOBAR is made with green tea-infused Belvedere vodka, Grand Marnier, orange juice, yuzu juice, house-made honey and Sprite.

Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver

The pioneer of in-house honeybee production and supporting global bee health is Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, whose Bee Sustainable program comprises honeybee apiaries at more than 20 properties across the world.

"By building more than a dozen luxury bee hotels from coast to coast, we are doing our part to build a more sustainable world," says Jane Mackie, Fairmont Brand vice president.

In June this year, the Fairmont Waterfront became one of the first hotels in the group to build a solitary pollinator bee hotel (aptly named Bee & Bee) designed to give busy bees a break between pollination missions.

The hotel also hosts 500,000 resident honeybees in the 195 square meter herb garden on the third floor terrace, which forage over 67 square kilometers and 60 different plants (particular favorites being the pollens from blackberry blossoms and American bamboo blossoms).

From May to September, guests can join a daily tour of the apiary and rooftop garden with a resident bee butler (and have a sneak peek at the bees from the observation hive). Guests can also request to go on a Pollinator Corridor Walk through the city with Hives for Humanity's Julia Common.

On the menu: The "Waterfront Bee's Knees" cocktail at ARC Bar is made with Bombay Sapphire Gin, lemon juice, house-made honey syrup and topped with Earl Grey tea foam.

St. Ermin's Hotel, London

St. Ermin's has been keeping bees for some four years now, first on the main rooftop and later expanding the installation to include a specially planted wildflower terrace where a new bee hotel -- the first hotel in the UK to have one -- now resides.

The hotel had their own honey analyzed, with results showing their bees gather nectar from over 50 different plants and trees within their three-mile forage radius (which includes Buckingham Palace Gardens and St. James' Park).

September is the hotel's annual honey month, when they celebrate their house-made amber nectar through all of the food and cocktail menus. During the same month, the hotel also hosts an urban beekeeping workshop with their expert beekeeper, Camilla Goddard of Capital Bee.

On the menu: The 'Bowler Hat' cocktail at Caxton Bar is made with dry vermouth, London gin, raw house-made honey and lemon juice.

Syrian rebels backed by the United States will now have air cover if they come under attack after President Barack Obama signed off on the decision, a senior administration official confirms to CNN on Sunday.

This comes after the United States conducted airstrikes last week to protect two groups after they came under attack: U.S.-trained rebels and the U.S.-affiliated rebels of the 30th division.

U.S. aircraft came in after the attack on a compound where members of the New Syria Force, which is the U.S.-trained-and-equipped rebel group, were located as well members of the 30th division.

The United States believes that attack was carried out by the al-Nusra front, which is a group affiliated with al Qaeda.

The U.S. aircraft came in, provided air support and "successfully repelled the attack," one U.S. official told CNN. The strikes last week signified for the first time there was actual policy and actionable decision to support those forces.

"We view the Syrian forces trained and equipped by the Department of Defense as partners in the counter-ISIL effort. These forces are being provided with a wide range of coalition support in their mission to counter ISIL, which includes defensive fires support to protect them," National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told CNN.

"We won't get into the specifics of our rules of engagement, but have said all along that we would take the steps necessary to ensure that these forces could successfully carry out their mission. We demonstrated our resolve in this respect on Friday," Baskey said.

The attack on Friday was seen as a difficult setback for the U.S. program to train and equip Syrian rebels. It only had 60 of them through the program so far.

The United States wants to sign up more, and the compound coming under attack by this al Qaeda affiliated group in northern Syria will not help in that effort.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the presidential authorization.

The San Francisco Giants are one of the hottest teams in baseball since the All-Star break, while the Atlanta Braves are one of the coldest. Streaking in the opposite direction, the two teams open a three-game series Monday in Atlanta as the Giants aim to win for the 12th time in 16 games since the break while the Braves look to improve on their 5-11 second-half record.The Giants have surged into a tie with the Chicago Cubs for the second National League wild-card spot and sit just 2 ½ games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West. Buster Posey drove in San Francisco's lone run in Sunday's 2-1 loss at Texas, and the All-Star catcher is hitting .377 during a 14-game road hitting streak. The Braves wrapped up a miserable 2-8 road trip by avoiding a four-game sweep Sunday at Philadelphia, scoring more than three runs for the first time in 11 games in a 6-2 victory. Atlanta shortstop Andrelton Simmons missed Sunday's contest with a sprained right thumb and is expeted to miss a few games.TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, CSN Bay Area (San Francisco), SportSouth (Atlanta)PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants RH Matt Cain (2-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. Braves RH Mike Foltynewicz (3-3, 5.04)Cain has struggled with consistency since making his season debut July 2, after missing the first three months with a right flexor tendon strain. He gave up four runs on eight hits in a loss Tuesday to Milwaukee,after beating San Diego with six innings of one-run, five-hit pitching six days earlier. Cain has posted a 0.75 ERA, yielding one run and seven hits in 12 innings, during his two victories while logging a 7.36 ERA in two defeats.Foltynewicz pitched well in his return to the rotation Wednesday, allowing two runs on six hits in six innings and matching his season high with eight strikeouts in a loss at Baltimore. The rookie, who made three relief appearances in a five-day span in early July, likely will remain in Atlanta's rotation following last week's trade of Alex Wood to the Dodgers. Foltynewicz has recorded a 4.97 ERA in 10 starts, allowing 10 homers with 56 strikeouts and 19 walks in 58 innings.WALK-OFFS1. Atlanta 2B Jace Peterson snapped a 9-for-59 skid with three hits Sunday, including a three-run homer.2. The Giants played Sunday without All-Star 2B Joe Panik, who has missed three of the past five games with lower back stiffness.3. The Braves rank last in the majors in homers with 64 in 105 games and San Francisco has slugged 56 homers on the road (51 games).PREDICTION: Giants 5, Braves 2

The Houston Astros coughed up their lead in the American League West right before the Midsummer Classic thanks to a six-game losing streak. The Astros took two of three from the Texas Rangers to begin the second half to spark an 11-4 run coming out of the All-Star break - a stretch they'll look to continue when they visit the Rangers for the first of three games on Monday.Houston held a five-game edge over the Los Angeles Angels on July 3, but proceeded to drop eight of nine during a disastrous road trip that saw its offense fail to score more than three runs seven times. The Astros swept the Angels last week to regain the division lead they held for most of the season and have won five of six overall following Sunday's 4-1 victory over Arizona. The Rangers (51-53) continued their climb back to .500 with their fourth win in five contests, riding a masterful 8 1/3-inning effort from Martin Perez in a 2-1 triumph over San Francisco on Sunday. Texas hopes it can get a similar performance in the opener from scheduled starter Colby Lewis, who is 2-0 with a 2.78 ERA in three tries versus the Astros this season.TV: 8:05 p.m. ET, ROOT (Houston), FSN Southwest (Texas)PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Lance McCullers (5-3, 2.48 ERA) vs. Rangers RH Colby Lewis (11-4, 4.42)McCullers notched his first victory in exactly a month in Wednesday's 6-3 defeat of the Angels, yielding a run on five hits in seven frames. The 21-year-old rookie has limited opposing hitters to a .207 batting average and will be seeking his second career road win and first since getting No. 1 in Detroit on May 23. McCullers, who has allowed one run or less in four of his last six outings and three earned runs or fewer in 12 of his first 13 career starts, will draw the Rangers for the first time. Lewis continued his second-half surge with Wednesday's 5-2 triumph of the New York Yankees, permitting two runs over six innings for his third victory in as many turns. The 36-year-old, who leads the team in wins and quality starts (14), improved to 7-1 since the start of June despite a 4.19 ERA in those 11 outings. Lewis has struggled against Jose Altuve (6-for-20), Jed Lowrie (6-for-20 with a home run) and Colby Rasmus (5-for-15, homer), but is 7-1 with a 1.91 ERA in 13 appearances (10 starts) all-time against Houston.WALK-OFFS1. With a win in the opener, Houston (60-46) can move 15 games over .500 for the first time since finishing the 2005 campaign with an 89-73 mark.2. Two of LF Josh Hamilton's five home runs since making his season debut with the Rangers on May 25 have come in the last four games.3. The Astros activated RH Mike Fiers on Sunday after acquiring him and CF Carlos Gomez from Milwaukee on Thursday. Fiers will start Tuesday.PREDICTION: Rangers 4, Astros 3